Let us admit our sin before the God of truth. Our humiliation will not be without hope, since we know God is able to give us a new heart.
① 1* 2* 3Have mercy on me, O God, in your love.
In your great compassion blot out my sin.
4Wash me thoroughly of my guilt;
cleanse me of evil.
5For I acknowledge my wrongdoings
and have my sins ever in mind.
6Against you alone have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done.
You are right when you pass sentence
and blameless in your judgment.
7For I have been guilt-ridden from birth,
a sinner from my mother’s womb.
8I know you desire truth in the heart,
teach me wisdom in my inmost being.
9Cleanse me with hyssop and I shall be clean,
wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.
10Fill me with joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
11Turn your face away from my sins
and blot out all my offenses.
12Create in me, O God, a pure heart;
give me a new and steadfast spirit.
13Do not cast me out of your presence
nor take your holy spirit from me.
14Give me again the joy of your salvation
and sustain me with a willing spirit.
15Then I will show wrongdoers your ways
and sinners will return to you.
16Deliver me, O God, from the guilt of blood,
and of your justice I shall sing aloud.
17O Lord, open my lips,
and I will declare your praise.
18You take no pleasure in sacrifice;
were I to give a burnt offering,
you would not delight in it.
19O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit;
a contrite heart you will not despise.
20Shower Zion with your favor:
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
21Then you will delight in fitting sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and bulls offered on your altar.
- For certain people, Christians included, the word “sin” is out of date. Sin is only a weakness of our nature or the product of evil social structures and so the remedy lies with doctors, psychiatrists and sociologists. The cross of Jesus is there: it is a sign of the existence of sin and its total destruction.
Not for nothing has God educated the people of the Old Testament throughout the centuries, giving them a sense of sin. This psalm has kept the ancient terms: guilt, sin, fault, evil actions but has gradually put aside what came from fear, or what was a failure to observe the law, in order to point out what was essential: that which is evil in your sight and which is a betrayal of God who loves us.
You desire truth in the heart! To recognize sin is to enter into truth. A broken spirit will be the proof of our love. The cry to God to give us a pure heart will be the expression of our faith.
In your great love, O Lord, have mercy on me. God is not loved, or he is poorly loved. The experience of pardon is the door which gives access to knowing God, as will be said in Romans 5–6. And the result of this will be that the Spirit of God will be given to us, making us steadfast and joyful.
Deliver me from the guilt of blood. The evil or the crimes we have committed make us fear death: we carry it within us. From this comes the desire of reparation, to start again, to save others. I will teach them your ways. That will depend more on God than on us.
This psalm refers to the adultery of David (2 S 11): it was in fact written much later when God’s people in general became aware of the experience of its sin. At the end it reaffirms that the God of truth is not interested in our religious gestures if our inner being has not been deeply moved. Such an affirmation was at that time difficult to accept and that is why someone wanted to correct it by adding verses 20-21 so as not to shock the good people who came to pray in the Temple.
The whole psalm breathes an atmosphere of serenity (10-14) because God does not want the death of the sinner, but rather that he may live. The sinner, pardoned and sure of God’s constant pardon, will be the witness of divine mercy in an embittered and pessimistic world.
When in the Church, we receive the sacrament of pardon, we meet Jesus himself, the Savior who intercedes, and the Father who pardons. Each of our confessions is a joyful celebration of God’s mercy and a source of renewal.
